With the advent of greater and greater capability for accumulating data regarding a variety of different processes and/or objects, one of the most challenging aspects of dataset management is in the filtering and selection of important data from within a set, particularly in relation to the management of a plurality of different, physically separated locations. For example, for businesses which operate across a wide range of physically spaced apart locations, such as a national chain of shops, it can be extremely challenging to manage the data received from the variety of different stores in a meaningful way.
Furthermore, even where the data is available, there is often no internal normalisation of the data streams received from the different locations which must be monitored, and therefore it can be difficult to compare the data received which accounts for the regional variation.
This is particularly important in time-critical scenarios, such as where alarm events are being monitored and responses controlled from a central remote location across the entire range of locations. Each alarm system in each location may be configured in a different way, making assessment of whether an alarm triggered in one location is equivalent to a similar alarm in another location.
In addition to the above issues, it is challenging for a user in a central location to identify potential issues associated with the various locations in a proactive manner.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved means by which the monitorable devices can be controlled based on an associated dataset from a remote location, as well as a method of configuring the accompanying dataset management system for consistency over the entire set of locations. This arrangement serves to enhance the control of devices at a remote location.